Whether you are a tradie building decks or tackling your own DIY decking project, keeping your screws aligned in a straight line over every joist is always a challenge. While composite boards and hidden fixing systems drill at angles, stainless steel screws lined up cleanly across a freshly oiled timber deck have a classic character of their own—especially when working with hardwood.
Deckpro™ is the only metallic laser-cut drilling template on the market (Australian patent 202210600) designed to help you mark pilot holes over your timbers as fast as possible while laying decking boards. It comes pre-drilled with 3.6 mm guide holes positioned 15 mm from the board edges to match industry standards over 45 mm standard joists. Deckpro™ is made in two versions: a compact 90 mm model for 90 mm boards, and a 90/140 mm model suited for both 90 mm and wider 140 mm decking boards.
- Marking deck screws over a straight line on the centre of each joist
- The only metallic laser cut drilling template in the market (Australian patent 202210600)
- Helps you mark holes over the timbers as quickly as possible using 3.6 mm guide holes
- Suitable for 45 mm standard joists marking 15 mm from board edges
- Two different versions for 90 mm and both 90/140 mm decking boards
There are 3 main sets of holes (each set 6 holes) on the template: one set in the middle, one on the right, and one on the left. Each hole set is used when:
- normally a board is fixed over each joist
- marking for a butt joint between two timbers over one joist or;
- you are marking on a joist which is next to a wall or pavement.
Pictures below show each of these scenarios.
1. The middle row of holes marks for two screws each 15 mm from the board edge right at the middle of the joist.
2. Butt joints happen when two timbers meet over a joist and you need two screws at each timber edge as shown in the photo. As you have to drill very close to both timber and joist edges, it is critical that the screw hits the joist in the right spot—neither too close to the joist edge nor to the timber edge, which can cause cracks. Using Deckpro™ ensures you mark 4 holes at both timber edges, spaced at 1/4th of the joist width when butting timbers over the joist.
3. While working on timbers close to walls and pavements, sometimes you can't use the middle set of holes as the jig cannot be fitted over the joist. In those scenarios, both the left or right set of holes help to mark for screws, while the edge of Deckpro™ leg touches the joist as shown in the picture.
